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Judy Greer Joining 'Dawn of the Planet of the Apes' as Chimp Lover

Though you may not know the, Judy Greer has undoubtedly crossed your path in one of her many film and TV appearances. Greer is quite the talented character actress appearing in the likes of The Descendants recently, not to mention films like 13 Going on 30, Love and Other Drugs and Jeff Who Lives at Home. You've probably also caught her on "Arrested Development" and "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" and now she's stepping up into blockbuster territory. Vulture has word that Greer has landed a role in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, and she's actually the first new cast member to take on an ape role. More below!

While Jason Clarke, Gary Oldman, Kodi Smit-McPhee and Keri Russell have all enlisted in the Rise of the Planet of the Apes sequel, Greer just revealed that she will be playing Cornelia, a female chimp who will serve as a love interest for Andy Serkis as the revolutionary ape Caesar. In fact it was Serkis, who co-starred in 13 Going on 30 with Greer, who encouraged her to lobby for a role in the sequel, and it was her surprisingly intimate connection to the Planet of the Apes universe that really convinced Reeves to cast her. The actress explains:

"I married a man who … I'm gonna use the word obsessed. He is obsessed with Planet of the Apes. We had a chimp husband-and-wife cake topper at our wedding. At the cocktail hour, we played Planet of the Apes and Rise of the Planet of the Apes on two separate televisions in the bar area. And on the wedding gift I bought him, a vintage Rolex, I had it engraved, 'Ape shall not kill ape.' I was then told that, technically, it's 'Ape shall never kill ape,' but there wasn't enough space for engraving purposes."

On her meeting with Reeves and her enthusiasm for the franchise, Greer says, "I think I might have freaked him out a little bit." For those who don't remembr, Cornelia was actually briefly introduced in the first film (a dancer named Devyn Dalton played her), but clearly she has a much bigger role this time. This is a cool story about a gifted actress getting a role that she's very passionate about, and continues to make Dawn of the Planet of the Apes one of my most anticipated releases coming in 2014. Will any other talents step up to play apes alongside Serkis and Greer? The film doesn't get released until May 23rd, 2014, so stay tuned.